IBRAHIM QUADRI
The Lagos State Government has unveiled plans for the 3rd edition of the Invest Lagos Summit, with 1,000 delegates from 50 countries expected to participate at the event scheduled for June 8 and 9 at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island.
The summit, themed: “Lagos: Business Gateway to Africa,” is being organised in partnership with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) and private sector stakeholders as part of efforts to deepen investment inflows into the state
Briefing the press about the event, the state Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Folashade Bada Ambrose-Medebem, described the summit as a strategic platform for investment mobilisation, policy engagement and enterprise partnerships.
According to her, the initiative has grown beyond a conventional investment conference into a platform designed to drive capital mobilisation, sectoral partnerships and investor confidence in Lagos.
She said this year’s edition would feature keynote addresses, executive roundtables, exhibitions, investment matchmaking sessions and sector-focused discussions across infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, technology, blue economy, tourism, logistics, energy transition, financial services and SME development.
Ambrose-Medebem added that the summit would also spotlight opportunities in industrial parks, special economic zones, innovation districts, export-oriented manufacturing and digital commerce ecosystems.
“One of the major highlights of Invest Lagos 3.0 will be the Governors’ Investment Showcase, designed to facilitate direct engagement between government leaders, global investors, sovereign institutions, development partners and the private sector,” she said.
The commissioner noted that the event would host Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Government (B2G) meetings aimed at connecting local enterprises with global investors, financiers and technical partners.
She said Lagos remained strategically positioned as Africa’s investment gateway because of its population size, expanding infrastructure, industrial base and innovation ecosystem.
“With a GDP estimated among the largest city economies on the continent and one of the busiest seaports in Africa, Lagos remains uniquely positioned as the preferred destination for investment, trade, manufacturing, finance, technology and enterprise development,” she said.
Ambrose-Medebem stressed that the state government was also prioritising youth entrepreneurship and innovation, noting that Lagos continued to lead Africa’s startup ecosystem.
She said the summit was expected to deepen investor confidence, facilitate strategic partnerships, boost industrial expansion and generate employment opportunities.
The commissioner reiterated the commitment of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to improving the ease of doing business through reforms, infrastructure renewal and digital transformation.
Also speaking at the briefing, Co-chairman of the Technical Committee on Invest Lagos 3.0, Toyosi Akerele, said the summit would leverage technology, innovation and real-time intelligence to improve engagement, coordination and investment tracking.
She disclosed that organisers would introduce an AI-powered dashboard that would allow participants across the world to monitor plenary sessions, panel discussions and keynote speeches in real time.
According to her, students from tertiary institutions across Lagos, including Lagos State University, would manage the summit’s dashboard and command centre as part of efforts to strengthen youth participation and human capital development.
Akerele added that the summit would feature a dedicated podcast section to enable foreign delegates and development partners share their experiences about Lagos, its culture, tourism and business environment.
She further revealed that over 400 foreign delegates would embark on guided tours of major infrastructure and industrial projects in Lagos on June 10.
The delegates, she said, would visit the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Dangote Refinery, Dangote Fertiliser Plant, Lekki Deep Sea Port and the RussellSmith 3D Printing and Manufacturing Centre.
She explained that the tours would also expose participants to Lagos’ transport infrastructure, including the Blue and Red Rail lines.
Akerele described the summit as an opportunity to showcase Lagos as a “modern, connected and future-forward smart city.”
“We now live in an era where the wealth of nations is directly proportional to the quality of the human capital of those nations,” she said, adding that young people would play a critical role in shaping the future economy.
Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor and Co-chairman of the Organising Committee, Sam Egube, said Lagos had continued to invest in infrastructure, human capital and economic growth despite global economic challenges over the past eight years.
According to him, the summit reflects Lagos’ ambition to position itself not just as a state but as a national economic asset through strategic partnerships with the private sector and international institutions.
Egube urged stakeholders and the media to amplify the state’s investment narrative, describing the summit as a major platform for showcasing investment opportunities across Lagos and Nigeria.
“This is a big partnership and this is signalling what Lagos stands for. This is what Mr Governor has been building over the years and it is coming into full bloom on this platform,” he said.
He added that governors, international investors and business leaders would use the summit to promote investment opportunities across different sectors and states.
“It is going to be bigger, more impactful and more penetrative than what has been seen before,” he added.
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